Slender: The Eight Pages

Slender Man. You may have heard the name dropped over these past few months, but may have had no idea as to what it actually meant. Today, we’re going to set the record straight with a quick look at “Slender: The Eight Pages”, which is a free downloadable game that will scare your socks off.

Slender: The Eight Pages (PC, Mac)

First, a little background. The game itself is still in the Beta and was made available to the general public sometime in June, 2012. I’m told (after asking in the forums) that it was a test game for “Slender: The Arrival”, which is currently in production and has plans to release commercially. I was also told that “Slender: The Eight Pages” will either not have a finished version or if it does, will simply fix bugs that are in the current Beta version. The general consensus was however that it would always be free.

Beta or not, you’ll be on the edge of your seat.

Slender Man, put simply, is hunting you. You’re tasked with finding eight pages that are scattered among ten different landmarks in some sort of forest. Armed only with a flashlight in the dark of night, you’ll wonder around this forest looking for these eight pages. Slender Man shows up after you find the first one (or if you take too long to find the first one) and usually does it in a way that will make you wish you had skipped on dinner.

You’d be wise to listen to this page.

What’s more, Slender Man doesn’t actually move when you see him, he’s just a tall, faceless guy in a suit that is watching you. You’ll know when he’s in your field of vision because the static will begin filling the screen. If this static is allowed to go on for too long, he will “catch you” and the game will be over.

GAHHHHH!!

If the thought of some faceless thing following you off camera wasn’t bad enough, the game throws all sorts of sound cues at you that intensify the moment superbly. For example, a piano key will sound loudly when you turn and see him. As you collect more pages, the background sound effects (a drum beating, among other things) intensify. It adds suspense on top of suspense, making you wish that you had waited until daylight to try “Slender Man: The Eight Pages” for the first time.

ohmygodohmygodohmygod…OH *&^$!

It’s an excellent way to get the old adrenaline pumping. It’s even more fun when you have a webcam set up in secret, recording the reactions of all of your friends as they scream like little girls and soil their pants. If you scare easily or thought “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” was too much for you, then you may want to pass on this. However, if you’ve got the guts and/or want a good scare, download this game and give it a go.